Monday, November 1, 2010

Dreams...



"I'm telling you, people. Everyday we wake up is another blessing. Follow your dreams and don't let anyone stop you. Never say never."
Justin Bieber


My friends will tell you, I am not "up" on all the latest music. I am an old soul, I guess, and, though it pains me to say this...I just don't get a lot of the new music. Give me the stuff I grew up on or give me some good old Louis Prima, John Coltrane, Miles Davis...you get the idea. So, I chuckled to myself when I found this quote from Justin Bieber. I know who this kid is, but know nothing about his music...based on this quote, I might see what all the fuss is about!

So, on to today's post!

I spent some time reflecting on how powerful it can be to "give voice" to your dreams. First, let me say that I think it is incredibly important to allow yourself to dream in the biggest, most creative way you can. Don't hold back...dream BIG! I think that some people ( I know I was once one of them) can get so bogged down in the minutia of practical, daily life "stuff" that they close themselves off to the beautiful possibilities that exist all around them. I imagine these possibilities as little pixies, waiting for us to acknowledge them, breathing life into them and giving them a chance to blossom. Acknowledging your innermost dreams can require a huge amount of faith, and sometimes involves working through some deeply rooted fears. There can be some serious "housecleaning" involved! I think our dreams often end up buried inside, covered up with years of accumulated fears: "what if"s, "I should've"s, "I can't"s, "it's too late"...you get the idea.

As I reflect upon my life this year I can see tremendous growth in some areas that I had struggled with in the past. Maybe it's just simply that I'm getting older...ugh...or maybe it's just the result of past events that led me to the place where I realized that I wanted to take some chances. For me, taking risks and following my dreams has had a snowball effect. It's amazing how things have turned out! To be fair, it hasn't all been wonderful, but if I have learned nothing else, I know that I don't have access to the "big picture." I believe there is a divine plan and I know I don't have all the pieces of the puzzle. I trust that things will ultimately work out the way they are meant to and that I will be taken care of.

A few months ago, I shared that I celebrated my birthday this year creating a "vision board" with some dear girlfriends. It was great fun, unleashing some creative juices, trying to find words and images to represent my deepest wishes and dreams. One of my friends, who had done this before, shared how powerful the experience of creating a vision board had been for her. She showed us one that she had made last year, and then pointed to everything that had manifested in her life since then. It was remarkable and very inspiring.
This morning, I looked at my own vision board...I was amazed to realize that some of my own wishes and dreams had started to come true! It was a very powerful moment for me.

I'm at a point in my life when the need to understand how things happen is not as important to me. And thank God for that! I used to get so tied up in trying to figure the how's and why's of a situation that I got stuck in that obsession. Now, I try to show up, do my part, and then get out of the way so that the universe can do its part.
For me, acknowledging and "giving voice" to my dreams is my way of saying yes to the possibilities. By denying your dreams or keeping them hidden you are essentially keeping yourself closed off to what could be...it's like shouting NO!

Remember when you were a little kid? If someone asked you what you wanted to be when you got older, what did you say? An astronaut? A ballerina? The President?
Anything was possible!
As children, we possess the most expansive and fertile imaginations...sadly, we tend to lose access to them as we get older. But, the good news is that that creativity is not lost...
Why don't you try to dust off your imagination? Give yourself the chance to explore your innermost desires.
Give yourself the opportunity to believe, for a moment, that anything is possible.

Give yourself permission to dream...BIG!


1 comment:

  1. Oh yeah Maria, when we ponder that God created the world through His words, we realize that giving a voice to our dreams is so very important and when we put God in the mix, and use a quote from the bible that are actually His words, we can't lose, because His words never, ever, return to Him void. Now sometimes it may take a while but if we have the courage to stand, we will be able to see our dreams unfold, oh, be careful what you wish for. Love,R

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